Disaster event management

ABSTRACT

Various embodiments disclosed herein provide for a disaster event management system that can track location of employees and other affected during disaster events and other emergency situations and determine their safety status. The disaster event management system can determine when an emergency event has occurred, and determine which employees are likely to be affected by the emergency, based on their location at the time and other directory information. The system can provide an interface on user equipment devices operated by the employees (e.g., mobile devices, laptops, computers, tablets, etc.) to provide their status along with an identification code to verify their identification. In an embodiment, the system can prompt the user equipment devices to provide a status in response to determining that the employee may be affected by the emergency situation.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

The subject patent application is a continuation of, and claims priorityto each of, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/502,600, filed Jul. 3,2019, and entitled “DISASTER EVENT MANAGEMENT,” which is a continuationof U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/698,785 (now U.S. Pat. No.10,375,555), filed Sep. 8, 2017, and entitled “DISASTER EVENTMANAGEMENT,” the entireties of which applications are herebyincorporated by reference herein.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present application relates generally to a field of mobilecommunication and, more specifically to accounting for people andconnected devices during a disaster or other emergency situation.

BACKGROUND

When disaster strikes and other emergency events occur, keeping track ofpeople and determining who is safe is important, not just for publicsafety authorities, but for employers as well. Knowledge of whereemployees are, other connected devices (e.g., internet of things “IOT”devices) and sensors and their statuses can be used to inform familymembers and authorities, but also can be used to determine bestpractices for future events.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Non-limiting and non-exhaustive embodiments of the subject disclosureare described with reference to the following figures, wherein likereference numerals refer to like parts throughout the various viewsunless otherwise specified.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example disaster event management system inaccordance with various aspects and embodiments of the subjectdisclosure.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example disaster event management system inaccordance with various aspects and embodiments of the subjectdisclosure.

FIG. 3 illustrates exemplary communication pathways for a disaster eventmanagement system accordance with various aspects and embodiments of thesubject disclosure.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example disaster event management system and cellsite or worksite in accordance with various aspects and embodiments ofthe subject disclosure.

FIG. 5 illustrates another example disaster event management system andcell site or worksite in accordance with various aspects and embodimentsof the subject disclosure.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example disaster event management system inaccordance with various aspects and embodiments of the subjectdisclosure.

FIG. 7 illustrates an example method for tracking employees during anemergency event in accordance with various aspects and embodiments ofthe subject disclosure.

FIG. 8 illustrates an example method for tracking employees during anemergency event in accordance with various aspects and embodiments ofthe subject disclosure.

FIG. 9 illustrates an example block diagram of an example user equipmentthat can be a mobile handset operable to provide a format indicator inaccordance with various aspects and embodiments of the subjectdisclosure.

FIG. 10 illustrates an example block diagram of a computer that can beoperable to execute processes and methods in accordance with variousaspects and embodiments of the subject disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

One or more embodiments are now described with reference to thedrawings, wherein like reference numerals are used to refer to likeelements throughout. In the following description, for purposes ofexplanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to providea thorough understanding of the various embodiments. It is evident,however, that the various embodiments can be practiced without thesespecific details (and without applying to any particular networkedenvironment or standard).

Various embodiments disclosed herein provide for a disaster eventmanagement system that can track locations of employees and othersaffected during disaster events and other emergency situations anddetermine their safety status. The disaster event management system candetermine when an emergency event has occurred, and determine whichemployees are likely to be affected by the emergency, based on theirlocation at the time and other directory information. The system canprovide an interface on user equipment devices operated by the employees(mobile devices, laptops, computers, tablets, etc.) to provide theirstatus along with an identification code to verify their identities. Inan embodiment, the system can prompt the user equipment devices toprovide a status in response to determining that the employee may beaffected by the emergency situation.

The disaster event management system can enable employers and otheragencies to rapidly account for thousands of employees following adisaster or other emergency event. This can be particular useful whenworksites (e.g., office buildings) and other facilities have to beevacuated, making it harder for supervisors to track their employees toensure their safety. The integrated disaster event solution can alsoenable enterprise customers to target critical information pushes,preparedness exercises and best practices, as well as generate reportson evacuation and safety metrics and data visualization. The disasterevent management system can also enable people afflicted by theemergency to rapidly distribute information and provide for employee toemployee resource sharing.

Similarly, note that for simplicity we use the radio network node orsimply network node is used for gNB. It refers to any type of networknode that serves UE and/or connected to other network node or networkelement or any radio node from where UE receives signal. Examples ofradio network nodes are Node B, base station (BS), multi-standard radio(MSR) node such as MSR BS, gNB, eNode B, network controller, radionetwork controller (RNC), base station controller (BSC), relay, donornode controlling relay, base transceiver station (BTS), access point(AP), transmission points, transmission nodes, RRU, RRH, nodes indistributed antenna system (DAS) etc.

Likewise, for reception we use the term user equipment (UE). It refersto any type of wireless device that communicates with a radio networknode in a cellular or mobile communication system. Examples of UE aretarget device, device to device (D2D) UE, machine type UE or UE capableof machine to machine (M2M) communication, PDA, Tablet, mobileterminals, smart phone, laptop embedded equipped (LEE), laptop mountedequipment (LME), USB dongles etc. Note that the terms element, elementsand antenna ports are also interchangeably used but carry the samemeaning in this disclosure.

In various embodiments, a system can comprise a processor and a memorythat stores executable instructions that, when executed by the processorfacilitate performance of operations. The operations can comprisedetermining that an event that satisfies a criterion related to publicsafety has occurred. The operations can also include determining that auser equipment associated with a user account is at a locationassociated with the event. The operations can also comprise sending astatus update request to the user equipment. The operations can alsocomprise, in response to receiving status update feedback from the userequipment, updating a safety status of the user account, the safetystatus of the user account relating to a safety of a person associatedwith the user account.

In another embodiment, method comprises receiving, by device comprisinga processor, a notification that an emergency event has occurred withina first defined distance from a worksite. The method can also comprisedetermining, by the device, that a user equipment associated with anemployee is within a second defined distance from the worksite. Themethod can also comprise receiving, by the device, a status update fromthe user equipment, wherein the status update comprises a validationcode. The method can also comprise determining, by the device, whetherthe validation code is a match with directory information associatedwith the user equipment. The method can also comprise in response to thereceiving the status update and the validation code being determined tobe the match with the directory information, updating, by the device, astatus associated with the employee.

In another embodiment machine-readable storage medium, comprisingexecutable instructions that, when executed by a processor of a device,facilitate performance of operations. The operations can comprisedetermining that a mobile device associated with an employee is within apredetermined distance of an emergency event based on a network locationof the mobile device. The operations can also comprise receiving astatus update from the mobile device, wherein the status updatecomprises a validation code and status information. The operations canalso comprise matching the validation code to directory informationassociated with the mobile device. The operations can also comprise inresponse to the matching the validation code to the directoryinformation, updating a status of the employee in an emergency trackingdatabase with the status information.

As used in this disclosure, in some embodiments, the terms “component,”“system” and the like are intended to refer to, or comprise, acomputer-related entity or an entity related to an operational apparatuswith one or more specific functionalities, wherein the entity can beeither hardware, a combination of hardware and software, software, orsoftware in execution. As an example, a component may be, but is notlimited to being, a process running on a processor, a processor, anobject, an executable, a thread of execution, computer-executableinstructions, a program, and/or a computer. By way of illustration andnot limitation, both an application running on a server and the servercan be a component.

One or more components may reside within a process and/or thread ofexecution and a component may be localized on one computer and/ordistributed between two or more computers. In addition, these componentscan execute from various computer readable media having various datastructures stored thereon. The components may communicate via localand/or remote processes such as in accordance with a signal having oneor more data packets (e.g., data from one component interacting withanother component in a local system, distributed system, and/or across anetwork such as the Internet with other systems via the signal). Asanother example, a component can be an apparatus with specificfunctionality provided by mechanical parts operated by electric orelectronic circuitry, which is operated by a software application orfirmware application executed by a processor, wherein the processor canbe internal or external to the apparatus and executes at least a part ofthe software or firmware application. The mechanical parts can includesensors on a float, tilt monitors, and etc. As yet another example, acomponent can be an apparatus that provides specific functionalitythrough electronic components without mechanical parts, the electroniccomponents can comprise a processor therein to execute software orfirmware that confers at least in part the functionality of theelectronic components. While various components have been illustrated asseparate components, it will be appreciated that multiple components canbe implemented as a single component, or a single component can beimplemented as multiple components, without departing from exampleembodiments.

Further, the various embodiments can be implemented as a method,apparatus or article of manufacture using standard programming and/orengineering techniques to produce software, firmware, hardware or anycombination thereof to control a computer to implement the disclosedsubject matter. The term “article of manufacture” as used herein isintended to encompass a computer program accessible from anycomputer-readable (or machine-readable) device or computer-readable (ormachine-readable) storage/communications media.

Computer-readable storage media can include, but are not limited to,random access memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM), electricallyerasable programmable read only memory (EEPROM), flash memory or othermemory technology, solid state drive (SSD) or other solid-state storagetechnology, compact disk read only memory (CD ROM), digital versatiledisk (DVD), Blu-ray disc or other optical disk storage, magneticcassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magneticstorage devices or other tangible and/or non-transitory media which canbe used to store desired information. In this regard, the terms“tangible” or “non-transitory” herein as applied to storage, memory orcomputer-readable media, are to be understood to exclude onlypropagating transitory signals per se as modifiers and do not relinquishrights to all standard storage, memory or computer-readable media thatare not only propagating transitory signals per se.

In addition, the words “example” and “exemplary” are used herein to meanserving as an instance or illustration. Any embodiment or designdescribed herein as “example” or “exemplary” is not necessarily to beconstrued as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments ordesigns. Rather, use of the word example or exemplary is intended topresent concepts in a concrete fashion. As used in this application, theterm “or” is intended to mean an inclusive “or” rather than an exclusive“or”. That is, unless specified otherwise or clear from context, “Xemploys A or B” is intended to mean any of the natural inclusivepermutations. That is, if X employs A; X employs B; or X employs both Aand B, then “X employs A or B” is satisfied under any of the foregoinginstances. In addition, the articles “a” and “an” as used in thisapplication and the appended claims should generally be construed tomean “one or more” unless specified otherwise or clear from context tobe directed to a singular form.

Moreover, terms such as “mobile device equipment,” “mobile station,”“mobile,” subscriber station,” “access terminal,” “terminal,” “handset,”“communication device,” “mobile device” (and/or terms representingsimilar terminology) can refer to a wireless device utilized by asubscriber or mobile device of a wireless communication service toreceive or convey data, control, voice, video, sound, gaming orsubstantially any data-stream or signaling-stream. The foregoing termsare utilized interchangeably herein and with reference to the relateddrawings. Likewise, the terms “access point (AP),” “Base Station (BS),”BS transceiver, BS device, cell site, cell site device, “Node B (NB),”“evolved Node B (eNode B),” “home Node B (HNB)” and the like, areutilized interchangeably in the application, and refer to a wirelessnetwork component or appliance that transmits and/or receives data,control, voice, video, sound, gaming or substantially any data-stream orsignaling-stream from one or more subscriber stations. Data andsignaling streams can be packetized or frame-based flows.

Furthermore, the terms “device,” “communication device,” “mobiledevice,” “subscriber,” “customer entity,” “consumer,” “customer entity,”“entity” and the like are employed interchangeably throughout, unlesscontext warrants particular distinctions among the terms. It should beappreciated that such terms can refer to human entities or automatedcomponents supported through artificial intelligence (e.g., a capacityto make inference based on complex mathematical formalisms), which canprovide simulated vision, sound recognition and so forth.

Embodiments described herein can be exploited in substantially anywireless communication technology, comprising, but not limited to,wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi), global system for mobile communications(GSM), universal mobile telecommunications system (UMTS), worldwideinteroperability for microwave access (WiMAX), enhanced general packetradio service (enhanced GPRS), third generation partnership project(3GPP) long term evolution (LTE), third generation partnership project 2(3GPP2) ultra mobile broadband (UMB), high speed packet access (HSPA),machine to machine, satellite, microwave, laser, Z-Wave, Zigbee andother 802.XX wireless technologies and/or legacy telecommunicationtechnologies.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example embodiment 100 of a disaster eventmanagement system 104 in accordance with various aspects and embodimentsof the subject disclosure. In one or more embodiments, disaster eventmanagement system 104 can track a location of a UE 102 and if it isdetermined the UE 102 is within a predetermined range of a disasterevent, or other emergency situation (e.g., weather related, earthquake,volcano, act of terror, war, etc.) and if so, update a status of theemployee associated with the UE 102 in response to receiving feedbackfrom the UE 102. The UE 102 can be a mobile device such as a cellularphone, a smartphone, a tablet computer, a wearable device, a virtualreality (VR) device, a heads-up display (HUD) device, a smart car, amachine-type communication (MTC) device, and the like. User equipment UE102 can also comprise IOT devices that communicate wirelessly.

In an embodiment, the UE 102 can be associated with an employee account.For example, the UE 102 can be a device issued by an employer, or isotherwise registered with the employer. In other embodiments, the UE 102can be a personal device, not otherwise associated with the employer,but still used by an employee associated with the employer system 106.

The disaster event management system 104 can determine when an emergencysituation has occurred (e.g., from public safety organizations, alerts,social media data, etc.) and determine whether UE 102 is in a locationthat may be affected by the emergency situation. In an embodiment, thedisaster event management system 104 can determine from an employeedatabase 112 in the employer system 106 whether an employee is assignedto a worksite (e.g., facility, office building, region, etc.) that isaffected by the emergency situation. In an embodiment, the disasterevent management system 104 can also determine locations of customers,vendors, visitors, and others that may be in area affected by theemergency. As an example, a property manager or owner could use thesystem to get input from people in their apartments, hotels, malls,multi-tenant office buildings, RV parks, hospitals, educationinstitutions, city buildings, and etc.

In other embodiments, the disaster event management system 104 candetermine the location of the UE 102 from GPS data on the UE 102 orbased on which network node the UE 102 is attached. In an embodiment,the disaster event management system 104 can determine a location of theUE 102 from a last known GPS coordinate location. This can be helpfulwhen a device has been turned off, or is in a building. In otherembodiments, the disaster event management system 104 can determine alocation of the UE 102 from an internet protocol (IP) address associatedwith a data transmission from the UE 102 if the UE 102 is connected to aWi-Fi signal or is otherwise connected to a local area network or widearea network with a known location. In other embodiments, the disasterevent management system 104 can determine a location of the UE 102 byutilizing calendar data, e.g., if the employee user account has calendardata indicating a meeting or travel plans at or to a location affectedby the emergency situation. In yet another embodiment, the disasterevent management system 104 can integrate with an employer accessmanagement system and determine who is present in a building to beevacuated based on the employees that swiped badges to enter thebuilding. The administrative component 110 can provide access to listsof employees present in a building at the time of the emergency, anddisaster event management system 104 can solicit status updates from UEsassociated with the employees present.

Data on visitors can be collected from multiple sources such asbuilding/location access (not just employer access) management systemsand detection systems that can recognize mobile devices such as smartphones. For example, if a person is in a building with their cell phoneon (not airplane mode) then some information like phone numbers or SIMID can be captured and used to augment building occupant counts, andlast known location (especially if multiple sensors throughout alocation is used). Information on employees and contractors can comefrom human resource system, directory database, etc. and even data fromcorporate travel indicating an employee from one location will be in thegeographic region impacted by an emergency situation.

Once the disaster event management system 104 determines that the UE 102is present, the disaster event management system 104 can send a promptto the UE 102 to provide an updated status. In an embodiment, the promptcan be sent via short message service (SMS) message to the UE 102, or byvoice call, or by a notification in an application on the UE 102. Theemployee can enter a status (or use a predefined status: “Safe”, “Okay”,and etc.), and the disaster event management system 104 can receive thestatus update, and return the status update to the employer system. Inan embodiment, the user can send back the status to the disaster eventmanagement system 104 without having received a prompt. For instance,the user can send an SMS to a predefined number, or call a number anduse the phone system's dual tone multi-frequency (DTMF) signaling tosend status updates. In other embodiments, the user can send a statusupdate to the disaster event management system 104 via an app withouthaving been prompted.

In an embodiment, the status update can include a verification codeidentifying the employee. The verification code can be an employeeidentification code or other code issued by the employer that mayidentify the employee, and/or the business group to which the employeebelongs. The disaster event management system 104 can match theverification code provided in the status update to a verification codeassociated with the employee in the employee database 112 beforeupdating the status of the employee.

In an embodiment, the status update can include one or more shortmessage codes that can inform a diverse group of carriers where to sendthe status update and provide insight into which company a personsending the message works for. Companies could also share a 5 digitshort message code, but then would need to have an application or userinput to provide a unique customer code and employee identificationcode. In an embodiment, the unique customer (company) and employee(worker) codes enable message validation (weeding out spam) andcorrelation to individuals regardless of the device used to send in themessage. For example, an employee could use a company provided or apersonal mobile phone to text the designated number, as long as theyidentified their unique ID. That is especially important duringdisasters where the person may not have ready access to mobile phonelisted in their contact information.

In an embodiment, the verification code may not be necessary if theemployee is providing the status update via a device that is alreadyregistered with the employer system 106. For instance, if the phonenumber of a received SMS message providing a status report matches thephone number of an employee, the disaster event management system 104can update the status of the employee. Likewise, the UE 102 may be adevice not registered with the employer system 106, with no recordsassociated with the UE 102 in the employee database 112, such as if thephone were a personal device, or a pay-phone, or other device. Theverification code can be used to authenticate the employee status updatein such a case.

In an embodiment where the verification code is not provided, and/or thedevice is not registered, or when the verification code does not matchthe code in the employee database 112, the disaster event managementsystem 104 can resend a request for update or request the user tore-enter the verification code.

Rules would be set up in GSMS to validate if incoming mobile-originatedmessages contain an employee's unique identifier or not. Responsemessages would indicate if a valid employee identifier was found in theincoming message such as a text string that matches the company employeeID schema (e.g., two letters followed by four numbers) before thedisaster event management system 104 forwards to the reporting component108, else the disaster event management system 104 would reply back witha negative response notice informing the sender to try again with avalid ID.

The disaster event management system 104 can automatically validate auniqueness of the employee identifier, ignoring capitalization, eachtime the customer attempts to uploads new/changed employee identifierfiles. Employer systems 106 could add an optional-yes or -no after theemployee ID if they wanted to indicate a basic company defined conditionstatus code.

An administrative component 110 on the employer system 106 can track theresponses and reporting component 108 can be used to generate reportsfor supervisors and public safety officials to determine the status ofemployees and others affected by the emergency. The administrativecomponent 110 can track data associated with how employees are reportingback via the disaster event management system 104 and the informationcan be used to identify best practices and improved response protocols.

In an embodiment, the disaster event management system 104 canfacilitate two way communications to and from the UE 102. The disasterevent management system 104 can be used to broadcast a message to allUEs belonging to employees affected by an emergency situation. Forexample, the administrative component 110 can be configured to transmit,via the disaster event management system 104 a message or set ofmessages to a single UE (e.g., UE 102) or group of UEs (e.g., all UEsassociated with employees at a worksite, or in a business group). Themessage(s) can contain emergency instructions to both the people whohave responded with status updates and/or to people who are currentlyunaccounted for. The messages can be different depending on whether thestatus update has been provided by the person or whether they areunaccounted for. The messages can be sent via SMS message, voice call,email, or via notifications in an application on the UEs. During adisaster event, if SMS messaging is not available or is limited in itsavailability, IP messaging may provide an alternate method to accountfor employees. The disaster event management system 104 can support2-way SMS messaging, with IP message failover to help ensure thatemployees have a robust, multi-modal messaging option to account forthemselves following a disaster in their area. IP messaging may requirean application to be loaded and active on the employee's mobile device.

In an embodiment, two way communication can be established with a personchecking in. For instance, if UE 102 checked in and provided theirstatus to disaster event management system 104, they could be accountedfor and transferred to an emergency responder system like 911 if needed.Assets that are responding to inquiries or sending self-initiatednotices, such as an emergency deliberator being activated, could includechips to report in and also enable responders to talk with people nearthe device. The same could be done for emergency exits and fireextinguishers.

In an embodiment, the administrative component 110 can store copies ofthe messages for automated accounting of employees following theemergency situation. The disaster event management system 104 can usestandard and flexible APIs that feed real-time data into their reportingsystems. This can enable the employer system 106 to quickly determinethe accounted for status of their employees following a disaster andcreate reports as needed via the reporting component 108. In anembodiment, the messages can be stored for at least 90 days.

In an embodiment, the administrative component 110 can use a secure webenabled portal for company administrators that supports basic messaging,contact information maintenance (i.e. uploads of target phone numberlists), and reporting or data download into a spreadsheet. This isparticularly important for organizations without their own reportingsystem that can leverage an API automated input feed.

In an embodiment, each message can be tracked, searchable, downloadable,and can include both the message text and metadata device's automaticnumber identification (ANI—i.e. caller ID), date/time stamp, and messagetype (SMS or IP). In an embodiment, messages can continue be sent to theUEs affected by the emergency situation at periodic intervals until avalidated response is received.

Note: Customer reporting tools or potential future cloud based reportingsolution could include a function to cross-reference mobile number withemployee contact information, but that is not native in the GSMSmessaging solution.

Turning now to FIG. 2, illustrated is an embodiment 200 showing anexample disaster event management system 204 in accordance with variousaspects and embodiments of the subject disclosure.

In an embodiment, the disaster event management system 204 can receivestatus updates from UE 202 in response to there being an emergencysituation that may affect an employee or person associated with the UE202. The disaster event management system 204 can solicit status updatesfrom UE 202 or can otherwise receive and update the statuses withemployer system 210 when the disaster event management system 204determines that an event has occurred that warrants the response.

Disaster event management system 204 can determine that an event isserious enough based on several different sources of information. Aweather system 206 can provide weather updates and notifications to thedisaster event management system 204 and if a weather update is seriousenough (e.g., tsunami, tornado warning, or actual reports of a tornadotouching down near an office building worksite, etc.) then the disasterevent management system 204 can send a prompt for status updates to theUE 202. The weather system 206 can be sourced by active advisorystatements from the National Weather Service or other governmental andprivate agencies that provide weather alerts. In an embodiment, disasterevent management system 204 can relay status updates and othercontextual information received from the UE 202 back to the weathersystem 206. In this way, forecasts, and other advisory statements caninclude contextual information from the scene that may be useful toothers.

In an embodiment, the disaster event management system 204 can determinean emergency has occurred in response to a plurality of tracked devicesthat are no longer reporting status information. For example, ifmultiple IoT or connected devices or sensors stop reporting, to thedisaster event management system 204, then the disaster event managementsystem 204 could determine that an emergency has occurred. Buildingalarms and environmental sensors could be correlated to trigger an alertvia alerts system 208 to a monitoring station or individuals who wouldthen determine if a notification would go out to individuals in a givenbuilding or location. Multiple no power indicators or emergencygenerators starting can help indicate the geographic scope of anemergency. Automated asset accounting can also include IoT devicesreporting if an asset is moving and has its emergency lights on, whichindicates its status to mapping coronation tools that can helpespecially if 911 dispatch is experiencing heavy volumes. Firstresponders could initiate a request to see if any assets are near themto provide backup. On the people side, knowing someone's phone is movingor outside a building can also be helpful

An alerts system 208 can also provide information relating to emergencysituation. An alerts system 208 can be provided with information fromfirst responders systems (e.g., police, fire service, National Guard,Homeland Security and etc.). If an emergency situation is declared byany organization, the alert can be forwarded to disaster eventmanagement system 204 which can start soliciting updates from UEsassociated with employees that may be affected by the emergency.Similarly, the alerts system 208 can also be provided with contextualdata about the scene of the emergency from the disaster event managementsystem 204. The information can help first responders determine how bestto respond to the emergency situation. For example, if there is anemergency, and the disaster event management system 204 can track thelocations of the UEs that have responded to the status updates, and alsotrack locations of UEs that have not responded, or can determine areaswhere there have been no responses from, that location data can bepassed to the first responders via the alerts system 208 to inform thefirst responders about where there might be areas of greater danger. Asan example, if an office building has been evacuated due to a fire, thedisaster event management system 204 can determine which business groupsor employees associated with floors or offices have and have notresponded. The disaster event management system 204 can determine that agroup of people may be trapped in a location or otherwise have not beenable to respond and based on the employee directory information or thelocation data, can indicate where the first responders should search viathe alerts system 208. The directory information can include informationincluding employee personnel data, contact information, employeeidentification number and job description data. The directoryinformation can also include information about job hierarchy(supervisors, direct reports, etc.), and job location (e.g., where isthe employee assigned, which office building, office number, etc.). Thedirectory information can be stored in a database managed by a humanresource department, or in a lightweight directory access protocoldirectory which is an open, vendor neutral application protocol foraccessing and maintaining distributed directory information servicesover an IP network.

In an embodiment, notifications to evacuate, or notifications aboutemergencies can be propagated by internal company mechanisms via theemployer system 210.

Turning now to FIG. 3, illustrated in embodiment 300 are exemplarycommunication pathways for a disaster event management system 304 inaccordance with various aspects and embodiments of the subjectdisclosure.

In an embodiment, the disaster event management system 304 can becommunicably coupled to a UE 302 via a variety of means, including via amobile network 314 that uses a radio access network to communicate withthe UE 302 via SMS messages 306, voice calls 308, and/or IP data 310.The disaster event management system 304 can also transmit and receiveIP data to and from the UE 302 via a Wi-Fi network 312 or other accessnetwork not related to the mobile network 314.

In an embodiment, the disaster event management system 304 can have apreferred mechanism of communication (e.g., IP data via an applicationon the UE 302) and then switch to another form if preferred means isunavailable. In an embodiment, the communication preferences can be setby the employer system. In other embodiments, the mobile network can setthe preference order based on network conditions. In still otherembodiments, the disaster event management system 304 can set thepreference based on the type of disaster or emergency situation.

In an embodiment, the disaster event management system 304 canfacilitate 2 way communications with the UE 302, allowing voice calls,data transfers (audio, images, video, etc) to and from the UE 302. In anembodiment, the disaster event management system 304 can facilitatecommunications to and from other UEs and UE 302. In an embodiment, thedisaster event management system 304 can facilitate asymmetriccommunications (e.g., broadband in one direction, and SMS in another)depending on the network conditions, emergency situation, and othercontextual information (employer preferences, and etc.).

Turning now to FIG. 4, illustrated is an embodiment 400 of an exampledisaster event management system 402 and cell site or worksite 404 inaccordance with various aspects and embodiments of the subjectdisclosure.

In one or more embodiments, disaster event management system 402 candetermine that an emergency 412 has occurred in a region 404. Region 404can be an office building, town, city, region, or cell site serviced bynetwork node 406. In response to determining that an emergency hasoccurred, the disaster event management system 402 can track thelocations of UEs 408 and 410 and determine that they are with the area404 that might be affected by emergency 412. The disaster eventmanagement system 402 can send a status request to one or more of UE 408or 410, and update their status with an employer system in response toreceiving feedback from the UE 408 and 410. In an embodiment, thedisaster event management system 402 may receive the status updatewithout having sent the status request.

The disaster event management system 402 can track the location of UE408 and 410 and if it is determined the UEs are within a region 404,update a status of the employee associated with the UE 102 in responseto receiving feedback from the UE 102. The disaster event managementsystem 402 can determine the location of the UE 408 and 410 based on GPCdata received from the UE 408 and 410 or from network node 406 which canindicate to disaster event management system 402 that the UE 408 and 410are attached to the network node 406. In an embodiment, the disasterevent management system 402 can determine the location of the UEs fromthe network node 406 and other network nodes which can performmultilateration in order to determine the location of the mobiledevices.

The disaster event management system 402 can determine when an emergencysituation has occurred (e.g., from public safety organizations, alerts,social media data, etc.) based on alerts from the first responderssystem 414. In an embodiment, the disaster event management system 104can determine from an employee directory 416 whether an employee isassigned to a worksite (e.g., facility, office building, region, etc)that is affected by the emergency 412.

In an embodiment, the disaster event management system 402 can start toreceive status reports from UE 408 and/or UE 410 even before thedisaster event management system 402 determines that an emergency 412has occurred. This information can indicate that there is some type ofemergency, and other information provided with the status updates canindicate the nature of the emergency 412 (e.g., what type of emergencyit is, where it is, when it happened, etc). This information can bepassed to a first responders system 414 (e.g., 911 service) which canalert the authorities to the emergency 412. The information can also bepassed to other monitoring and/or reporting persons or systems. Images,audio, video, and other contextual information received from the UEs 408and 410 can also be passed to the first responders system as well as toother UEs in the area to alert them about the emergency 412.

In an embodiment, the location of the UEs 408 and 410 can be passed tothe first responder system 414 as well to indicate the locations ofpeople that have responded, and not responded. This can indicate to theauthorities where people might need rescuing, or areas of greater orlesser danger.

In an embodiment, the disaster event management system 402 can sendspecialized alerts to UEs depending on their location in area 404 aswell as their jobs and roles (as defined by employee directory 416). Forinstance, if an employee account associated with UE 408 has a job as alineman, a weather report indicating potential lightning can trigger theemergency response by the disaster event management system 402 for UE408, when it may not trigger it for a user account associated with UE410. The disaster event management system 402 can also ensure thatmobile workers location is known and send a check-in request at certaintime intervals or if moving outside a geo-fence of where they werescheduled to go.

Deviations from planned routes can also trigger a status request fromthe disaster event management system 402. If a company vehicle left acertain area or the real estate person left the region where they weregoing to show homes, then an automated alert could be sent by disasterevent management system 402 to the affected UE.

In an embodiment, the disaster event management system 402 can activatea mobile device camera or microphone (e.g., for an employer issued UE)if the UE has not responded to the status requests. Information could becaptured and recorded for use by the first responders system 414 such aspolice, but privacy safeguards can be used to ensure inadvertentrecording did not occur. Automated sensors on video or still imagescould detect if large amounts of skin were showing without a relatedviolent act. The disaster event management system 402 could incorporateAI image processing; machine learning and big unstructured datafiltering in order to make inferences about the safety and status ofemployees. The disaster event management system 402 could alsoautomatically contact supervisors if there have been no check-ins by theemployee.

In an embodiment, UE 408 can send a push status update (e.g., initiatedby the employee associated with 408) in response to local conditions.For instance, the employee may be walking to their car, and feelthreatened by somebody following them. The alert can be passed from thedisaster event management system 402 to the first responders system 414,and a service can be offered to escort the employee associated with UE408 to their car or building.

The disaster event management system 402 can also integrate a reverse911 service where first responders can be told the locations of UEs(e.g., UE 408 or 410) that have not responded to status updates. Thereverse 911 service can especially be offered for those populations thatare at-risk (e.g., elderly, sickly, etc).

In an embodiment, the disaster event management system 402 canfacilitate informing others when a person has responded with theirstatus or has not responded. Each employee can have a list of numbers oremail addresses to notify in case of emergency. When the disaster eventmanagement system 402 receives a status report from the UE, the disasterevent management system 402 can notify each of the numbers or emailaddresses via SMS, voice call, email, etc, that the employee associatedwith the UE is ok. The disaster event management system 402 can extractthe information about the contacts to notify from the employee directory416 (e.g., a LDAP directory).

In an embodiment, disaster event management system 402 can also updatethe employee status for status updates received within a predeterminedtime period after the emergency 412 has been determined to start.

In an embodiment, the disaster event management system 402 can alsointegrate wearable devices such as heart rate monitors, step counters,and other devices with the status. Other smart devices that have onboardand/or attachable sensors such as mobile devices can also be integrated.In one or more embodiments, implantable sensors and other devices canalso be used to gather and transmit status information and contextualinformation. If the disaster event management system 402 does notreceive a status update from UE 408, but does receive an indication thatUE 408 and/or person associated with UE 408 has a heartbeat and/or ismoving, then the disaster event management system 402 can automaticallyupdate the status of the employee based on the received data. Thedisaster event management system 402 can mark the status as temporary orinterim until a formal status update is received from UE 408. If theauthorities are trying to rescue the employee associated with UE 408,the health information and other information can be passed to the firstresponders system 414 to give the authorities some context regarding thewellbeing of the person associated with UE 408.

The disaster event management system 402 can also integrate data fromsensors and other device in area 404 and provide that information to thefirst responders system 414. Sensors can include smoke detectors, firealarms, thermostats, and etc. The sensor information can be utilized bythe first responders system to facilitate route planning and otherresponse procedures.

Turning now to FIG. 5, illustrated is an embodiment 500 of anotherexample disaster event management system and cell site or worksite inaccordance with various aspects and embodiments of the subjectdisclosure.

In the embodiment shown in disaster event management system 502,disaster event management system 502 can facilitate sharing data betweenUE 508 and 510, as well as other sources via data sharing system 512.

The disaster event management system 502 can provide a platform forinformal and validated information sharing with all users in the companyand/or between and within specific groups of the company, e.g., businessgroups, etc. For instance, UE 508, can send image data or othercontextual data about an emergency situation to disaster eventmanagement system 502 via network node 506. The disaster eventmanagement system 502 can make the information shareable via datasharing system 512, and UE 510 can access the images and othercontextual data directly from data sharing system 512 via the networknode 506 or other access network. As an example, the data sharing system512 can facilitate crowdsourcing data that can be compiled for alldisaster event management system users, regardless of which employer,then be displayed to users with an indicator of how many people reportedsimilar findings or validated. The reliability of the information can berated by other users, so that over time, more reliable information canbe determined to be more trustworthy while information determined to benot trustworthy will not be propagated. In an embodiment, thereliability of the information can be based on whether a message ismarked as “official” or not or based on the sender of the message. Suchdata can be used for data mining, statistics, and analytics that canprovide insights based on word frequency, location, job role of personinputting information, etc. For example, if lots of people are talkingabout needing blankets or bottled water, then emergency management teamcan know to provide such resources in a given area. Data (includingchats, timelines, requests, pictures, and etc., cna be offloaded forpost event analysis and/or summarized data can be maintained until afterthe emergency operation is completed.

In an embodiment, the data sharing system 512 can also enable a privateor semiprivate chatroom access or communications channels between UEs508 and 510. In another embodiment, the data sharing system 512 can alsoenable UEs belonging to different companies to communicate with eachother and share status updates. In this way, contextual informationabout an emergency situation can be shared among employees and employersystems for different companies that may be affected by an emergencyevent. For instance, different companies that share an office buildingcan share information in response to the office building being evacuatedduring a fire or other emergency.

At least benefit of the person to person sharing of data is thatcompanies can automate metrics collection, see what are key needs, andmatching/searches for help do not rely on one's one personal network ofcontacts, clutter email, or result in each group having to create theirown means of helping each other out. Knowing a person also works for thesame company can add a degree of safety in that they are more of a knownentity than a total stranger. Employees knowing they have a place tohouse their pets may also be more likely to head evacuation warnings

The data sharing system 512 can also enable direct person to personassistance of goods and services to fellow employees. This cansupplement donations to relief agencies and can be healing as it is morepersonal than a donation to a relief agency . . . . Can give more of asense of “I personally helped and was able to take charge over somethingin my life during a time of crisis. The disaster event management system502 can also enables efficient tracking and searches to match what isbeing offered and people wanting what is being offered. Individuals canoffer to donate even before they know what employee would need thedonation and potentially before the employee realizes their need. As anexample, employees in a first region could begin identifying donationsin anticipation of person from a second region being evacuated due to ahurricane. The persons being evacuated do not need to just rely on theirnetwork of contacts, but can leverage everyone in the company donatinglocally or even mailing if they are going to be out of their home areafor a while due to disaster. This could have also helped in wild firesto match people with animals, especially large animals like horses, withothers who could help board the animals.

Turning now to FIG. 6, illustrated is an embodiment 600 of a disasterevent management system 602. Disaster event management system 602 caninclude an alerts component 608 that determines when an emergencysituation has occurred. The alerts component 608 can determine that anemergency situation has occurred based on active advisories receivedfrom the National Weather Service, or based on alerts from governmentemergency management agencies (state authorities, police, fire, FEMA,and etc.). The alerts component 608 can also determine that an emergencyhas occurred based on social media feedback. If there is a lot ofactivity on social media accounts that have keywords matching one ormore tracked keywords (“tornado”, “fire”, “terrorist”, “shooting”,“earthquake”, and etc) along with a location matching an office site orroute, or other location that may affect one or more employees, thealerts component 608 can send a status update request to the mobiledevices of users that may be affected.

The tracking component 606 can track the location of mobile devices andother devices associated with the employees to determine whether theemployees may be affected. The tracking component 606 can use locationdata received from a mobile network or mobile device, access managementdata (e.g., card swipes at buildings), calendar data (planned meetingsat specified locations), and directory information (e.g., to whichoffice an employee is assigned).

Authentication component 604 can verify the identification code receivedfrom the mobile device with employee directory information in anemployee directory database to determine whether or not the informationis valid. If the ID matches, the update component 610 can mark theemployee as safe. If the ID does not match, or is not present theauthentication component 604 can transmit a revalidation request to themobile device.

In an embodiment, the update component 610 can also map customer data(HR, LDAP, etc.) to a standardized database that can be used forreporting. The update component 610 can stream status update responsesreceived back to the end customer who would then be responsible forcorrelation and reporting.

FIGS. 7-8 illustrates processes in connection with the aforementionedsystems. The process in FIGS. 7-8 can be implemented for example by thesystems in FIGS. 1-6 respectively. While for purposes of simplicity ofexplanation, the methods are shown and described as a series of blocks,it is to be understood and appreciated that the claimed subject matteris not limited by the order of the blocks, as some blocks may occur indifferent orders and/or concurrently with other blocks from what isdepicted and described herein. Moreover, not all illustrated blocks maybe required to implement the methods described hereinafter.

FIG. 7 illustrates an example method 700 for tracking employees duringan emergency event in accordance with various aspects and embodiments ofthe subject disclosure.

Method 700 can begin at 702 wherein the method includes determining thatan event that satisfies a criterion related to public safety hasoccurred.

At 704, the method can include determining that a user equipmentassociated with a user account is at a location associated with theevent.

At 706, the method can include sending a status update request to theuser equipment.

At 708, the method can include, in response to receiving status updatefeedback from the user equipment, updating a safety status of the useraccount, the safety status of the user account relating to a safety of aperson associated with the user account.

FIG. 8 illustrates an example method 800 for tracking employees duringan emergency event in accordance with various aspects and embodiments ofthe subject disclosure.

Method 800 can begin at 802 wherein the method includes receiving, bydevice comprising a processor, a notification that an emergency eventhas occurred within a first defined distance from a worksite.

At 804, the method can include determining, by the device, that a userequipment associated with an employee is within a second defineddistance from the worksite.

At 806, the method can include receiving, by the device, a status updatefrom the user equipment, wherein the status update comprises avalidation code.

At 808, the method includes determining, by the device, whether thevalidation code is a match with directory information associated withthe user equipment.

At 810, the method can include in response to the receiving the statusupdate and the validation code being determined to be the match with thedirectory information, updating, by the device, a status associated withthe employee.

Referring now to FIG. 9, illustrated is a schematic block diagram of anexample end-user device such as a user equipment) that can be a mobiledevice 900 capable of connecting to a network in accordance with someembodiments described herein. Although a mobile handset 900 isillustrated herein, it will be understood that other devices can be amobile device, and that the mobile handset 900 is merely illustrated toprovide context for the embodiments of the various embodiments describedherein. The following discussion is intended to provide a brief, generaldescription of an example of a suitable environment 900 in which thevarious embodiments can be implemented. While the description includes ageneral context of computer-executable instructions embodied on amachine-readable storage medium, those skilled in the art will recognizethat the various embodiments also can be implemented in combination withother program modules and/or as a combination of hardware and software.

Generally, applications (e.g., program modules) can include routines,programs, components, data structures, etc., that perform particulartasks or implement particular abstract data types. Moreover, thoseskilled in the art will appreciate that the methods described herein canbe practiced with other system configurations, includingsingle-processor or multiprocessor systems, minicomputers, mainframecomputers, as well as personal computers, hand-held computing devices,microprocessor-based or programmable consumer electronics, and the like,each of which can be operatively coupled to one or more associateddevices.

A computing device can typically include a variety of machine-readablemedia. Machine-readable media can be any available media that can beaccessed by the computer and includes both volatile and non-volatilemedia, removable and non-removable media. By way of example and notlimitation, computer-readable media can comprise computer storage mediaand communication media. Computer storage media can include volatileand/or non-volatile media, removable and/or non-removable mediaimplemented in any method or technology for storage of information, suchas computer-readable instructions, data structures, program modules orother data. Computer storage media can include, but is not limited to,RAM, ROM, EEPROM, flash memory or other memory technology, CD ROM,digital video disk (DVD) or other optical disk storage, magneticcassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magneticstorage devices, or any other medium which can be used to store thedesired information and which can be accessed by the computer.

Communication media typically embodies computer-readable instructions,data structures, program modules or other data in a modulated datasignal such as a carrier wave or other transport mechanism, and includesany information delivery media. The term “modulated data signal” means asignal that has one or more of its characteristics set or changed insuch a manner as to encode information in the signal. By way of example,and not limitation, communication media includes wired media such as awired network or direct-wired connection, and wireless media such asacoustic, RF, infrared and other wireless media. Combinations of the anyof the above should also be included within the scope ofcomputer-readable media.

The handset 900 includes a processor 902 for controlling and processingall onboard operations and functions. A memory 904 interfaces to theprocessor 902 for storage of data and one or more applications 906(e.g., a video player software, user feedback component software, etc.).Other applications can include voice recognition of predetermined voicecommands that facilitate initiation of the user feedback signals. Theapplications 906 can be stored in the memory 904 and/or in a firmware908, and executed by the processor 902 from either or both the memory904 or/and the firmware 908. The firmware 908 can also store startupcode for execution in initializing the handset 900. A communicationscomponent 910 interfaces to the processor 902 to facilitatewired/wireless communication with external systems, e.g., cellularnetworks, VoIP networks, and so on. Here, the communications component910 can also include a suitable cellular transceiver 911 (e.g., a GSMtransceiver) and/or an unlicensed transceiver 913 (e.g., Wi-Fi, WiMax)for corresponding signal communications. The handset 900 can be a devicesuch as a cellular telephone, a PDA with mobile communicationscapabilities, and messaging-centric devices. The communicationscomponent 910 also facilitates communications reception from terrestrialradio networks (e.g., broadcast), digital satellite radio networks, andInternet-based radio services networks.

The handset 900 includes a display 912 for displaying text, images,video, telephony functions (e.g., a Caller ID function), setupfunctions, and for user input. For example, the display 912 can also bereferred to as a “screen” that can accommodate the presentation ofmultimedia content (e.g., music metadata, messages, wallpaper, graphics,etc.). The display 912 can also display videos and can facilitate thegeneration, editing and sharing of video quotes. A serial I/O interface914 is provided in communication with the processor 902 to facilitatewired and/or wireless serial communications (e.g., USB, and/or IEEE1394) through a hardwire connection, and other serial input devices(e.g., a keyboard, keypad, and mouse). This supports updating andtroubleshooting the handset 900, for example. Audio capabilities areprovided with an audio I/O component 916, which can include a speakerfor the output of audio signals related to, for example, indication thatthe user pressed the proper key or key combination to initiate the userfeedback signal. The audio I/O component 916 also facilitates the inputof audio signals through a microphone to record data and/or telephonyvoice data, and for inputting voice signals for telephone conversations.

The handset 900 can include a slot interface 918 for accommodating a SIC(Subscriber Identity Component) in the form factor of a card SubscriberIdentity Module (SIM) or universal SIM 920, and interfacing the SIM card920 with the processor 902. However, it is to be appreciated that theSIM card 920 can be manufactured into the handset 900, and updated bydownloading data and software.

The handset 900 can process IP data traffic through the communicationcomponent 910 to accommodate IP traffic from an IP network such as, forexample, the Internet, a corporate intranet, a home network, a personarea network, etc., through an ISP or broadband cable provider. Thus,VoIP traffic can be utilized by the handset 800 and IP-based multimediacontent can be received in either an encoded or decoded format.

A video processing component 922 (e.g., a camera) can be provided fordecoding encoded multimedia content. The video processing component 922can aid in facilitating the generation, editing and sharing of videoquotes. The handset 900 also includes a power source 924 in the form ofbatteries and/or an AC power subsystem, which power source 924 caninterface to an external power system or charging equipment (not shown)by a power I/O component 926.

The handset 900 can also include a video component 930 for processingvideo content received and, for recording and transmitting videocontent. For example, the video component 930 can facilitate thegeneration, editing and sharing of video quotes. A location trackingcomponent 932 facilitates geographically locating the handset 900. Asdescribed hereinabove, this can occur when the user initiates thefeedback signal automatically or manually. A user input component 934facilitates the user initiating the quality feedback signal. The userinput component 934 can also facilitate the generation, editing andsharing of video quotes. The user input component 934 can include suchconventional input device technologies such as a keypad, keyboard,mouse, stylus pen, and/or touch screen, for example.

Referring again to the applications 906, a hysteresis component 936facilitates the analysis and processing of hysteresis data, which isutilized to determine when to associate with the access point. Asoftware trigger component 938 can be provided that facilitatestriggering of the hysteresis component 938 when the Wi-Fi transceiver913 detects the beacon of the access point. A SIP client 940 enables thehandset 900 to support SIP protocols and register the subscriber withthe SIP registrar server. The applications 906 can also include a client942 that provides at least the capability of discovery, play and storeof multimedia content, for example, music.

The handset 900, as indicated above related to the communicationscomponent 810, includes an indoor network radio transceiver 913 (e.g.,Wi-Fi transceiver). This function supports the indoor radio link, suchas IEEE 802.11, for the dual-mode GSM handset 900. The handset 900 canaccommodate at least satellite radio services through a handset that cancombine wireless voice and digital radio chipsets into a single handhelddevice.

Referring now to FIG. 10, there is illustrated a block diagram of acomputer 1000 operable to execute the functions and operations performedin the described example embodiments. For example, a network node (e.g.,network node 406) may contain components as described in FIG. 10. Thecomputer 1000 can provide networking and communication capabilitiesbetween a wired or wireless communication network and a server and/orcommunication device. In order to provide additional context for variousaspects thereof, FIG. 10 and the following discussion are intended toprovide a brief, general description of a suitable computing environmentin which the various aspects of the embodiments can be implemented tofacilitate the establishment of a transaction between an entity and athird party. While the description above is in the general context ofcomputer-executable instructions that can run on one or more computers,those skilled in the art will recognize that the various embodimentsalso can be implemented in combination with other program modules and/oras a combination of hardware and software.

Generally, program modules include routines, programs, components, datastructures, etc., that perform particular tasks or implement particularabstract data types. Moreover, those skilled in the art will appreciatethat the various methods can be practiced with other computer systemconfigurations, including single-processor or multiprocessor computersystems, minicomputers, mainframe computers, as well as personalcomputers, hand-held computing devices, microprocessor-based orprogrammable consumer electronics, and the like, each of which can beoperatively coupled to one or more associated devices.

The illustrated aspects of the various embodiments can also be practicedin distributed computing environments where certain tasks are performedby remote processing devices that are linked through a communicationsnetwork. In a distributed computing environment, program modules can belocated in both local and remote memory storage devices.

Computing devices typically include a variety of media, which caninclude computer-readable storage media or communications media, whichtwo terms are used herein differently from one another as follows.

Computer-readable storage media can be any available storage media thatcan be accessed by the computer and includes both volatile andnonvolatile media, removable and non-removable media. By way of example,and not limitation, computer-readable storage media can be implementedin connection with any method or technology for storage of informationsuch as computer-readable instructions, program modules, structureddata, or unstructured data. Computer-readable storage media can include,but are not limited to, RAM, ROM, EEPROM, flash memory or other memorytechnology, CD-ROM, digital versatile disk (DVD) or other optical diskstorage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage orother magnetic storage devices, or other tangible and/or non-transitorymedia which can be used to store desired information. Computer-readablestorage media can be accessed by one or more local or remote computingdevices, e.g., via access requests, queries or other data retrievalprotocols, for a variety of operations with respect to the informationstored by the medium.

Communications media can embody computer-readable instructions, datastructures, program modules or other structured or unstructured data ina data signal such as a modulated data signal, e.g., a carrier wave orother transport mechanism, and includes any information delivery ortransport media. The term “modulated data signal” or signals refers to asignal that has one or more of its characteristics set or changed insuch a manner as to encode information in one or more signals. By way ofexample, and not limitation, communication media include wired media,such as a wired network or direct-wired connection, and wireless mediasuch as acoustic, RF, infrared and other wireless media.

With reference to FIG. 10, implementing various aspects described hereinwith regards to the end-user device can include a computer 1000, thecomputer 1000 including a processing unit 1004, a system memory 1006 anda system bus 1008. The system bus 1008 couples system componentsincluding, but not limited to, the system memory 1006 to the processingunit 1004. The processing unit 1004 can be any of various commerciallyavailable processors. Dual microprocessors and other multi-processorarchitectures can also be employed as the processing unit 1004.

The system bus 1008 can be any of several types of bus structure thatcan further interconnect to a memory bus (with or without a memorycontroller), a peripheral bus, and a local bus using any of a variety ofcommercially available bus architectures. The system memory 1006includes read-only memory (ROM) 1027 and random access memory (RAM)1012. A basic input/output system (BIOS) is stored in a non-volatilememory 1027 such as ROM, EPROM, EEPROM, which BIOS contains the basicroutines that help to transfer information between elements within thecomputer 1000, such as during start-up. The RAM 1012 can also include ahigh-speed RAM such as static RAM for caching data.

The computer 1000 further includes an internal hard disk drive (HDD)1014 (e.g., EIDE, SATA), which internal hard disk drive 1014 can also beconfigured for external use in a suitable chassis (not shown), amagnetic floppy disk drive (FDD) 1016, (e.g., to read from or write to aremovable diskette 1018) and an optical disk drive 1020, (e.g., readinga CD-ROM disk 1022 or, to read from or write to other high capacityoptical media such as the DVD). The hard disk drive 1014, magnetic diskdrive 1016 and optical disk drive 1020 can be connected to the systembus 1008 by a hard disk drive interface 1024, a magnetic disk driveinterface 1026 and an optical drive interface 1028, respectively. Theinterface 1024 for external drive implementations includes at least oneor both of Universal Serial Bus (USB) and IEEE 1394 interfacetechnologies. Other external drive connection technologies are withincontemplation of the subject embodiments.

The drives and their associated computer-readable media providenonvolatile storage of data, data structures, computer-executableinstructions, and so forth. For the computer 1000 the drives and mediaaccommodate the storage of any data in a suitable digital format.Although the description of computer-readable media above refers to aHDD, a removable magnetic diskette, and a removable optical media suchas a CD or DVD, it should be appreciated by those skilled in the artthat other types of media which are readable by a computer 1000, such aszip drives, magnetic cassettes, flash memory cards, cartridges, and thelike, can also be used in the example operating environment, andfurther, that any such media can contain computer-executableinstructions for performing the methods of the disclosed embodiments.

A number of program modules can be stored in the drives and RAM 1012,including an operating system 1030, one or more application programs1032, other program modules 1034 and program data 1036. All or portionsof the operating system, applications, modules, and/or data can also becached in the RAM 1012. It is to be appreciated that the variousembodiments can be implemented with various commercially availableoperating systems or combinations of operating systems.

A user can enter commands and information into the computer 1000 throughone or more wired/wireless input devices, e.g., a keyboard 1038 and apointing device, such as a mouse 1040. Other input devices (not shown)may include a microphone, an IR remote control, a joystick, a game pad,a stylus pen, touch screen, or the like. These and other input devicesare often connected to the processing unit 1004 through an input deviceinterface 1042 that is coupled to the system bus 1008, but can beconnected by other interfaces, such as a parallel port, an IEEE 1394serial port, a game port, a USB port, an IR interface, etc.

A monitor 1044 or other type of display device is also connected to thesystem bus 1008 through an interface, such as a video adapter 1046. Inaddition to the monitor 1044, a computer 1000 typically includes otherperipheral output devices (not shown), such as speakers, printers, etc.

The computer 1000 can operate in a networked environment using logicalconnections by wired and/or wireless communications to one or moreremote computers, such as a remote computer(s) 1048. The remotecomputer(s) 1048 can be a workstation, a server computer, a router, apersonal computer, portable computer, microprocessor-based entertainmentdevice, a peer device or other common network node, and typicallyincludes many or all of the elements described relative to the computer,although, for purposes of brevity, only a memory/storage device 1050 isillustrated. The logical connections depicted include wired/wirelessconnectivity to a local area network (LAN) 1052 and/or larger networks,e.g., a wide area network (WAN) 1054. Such LAN and WAN networkingenvironments are commonplace in offices and companies, and facilitateenterprise-wide computer networks, such as intranets, all of which mayconnect to a global communications network, e.g., the Internet.

When used in a LAN networking environment, the computer 1000 isconnected to the local network 1052 through a wired and/or wirelesscommunication network interface or adapter 1056. The adapter 1056 mayfacilitate wired or wireless communication to the LAN 1052, which mayalso include a wireless access point disposed thereon for communicatingwith the wireless adapter 1056.

When used in a WAN networking environment, the computer 1000 can includea modem 1058, or is connected to a communications server on the WAN1054, or has other means for establishing communications over the WAN1054, such as by way of the Internet. The modem 1058, which can beinternal or external and a wired or wireless device, is connected to thesystem bus 1008 through the input device interface 1042. In a networkedenvironment, program modules depicted relative to the computer, orportions thereof, can be stored in the remote memory/storage device1050. It will be appreciated that the network connections shown areexemplary and other means of establishing a communications link betweenthe computers can be used.

The computer is operable to communicate with any wireless devices orentities operatively disposed in wireless communication, e.g., aprinter, scanner, desktop and/or portable computer, portable dataassistant, communications satellite, any piece of equipment or locationassociated with a wirelessly detectable tag (e.g., a kiosk, news stand,restroom), and telephone. This includes at least Wi-Fi and Bluetooth™wireless technologies. Thus, the communication can be a predefinedstructure as with a conventional network or simply an ad hoccommunication between at least two devices.

Wi-Fi, or Wireless Fidelity, allows connection to the Internet from acouch at home, a bed in a hotel room, or a conference room at work,without wires. Wi-Fi is a wireless technology similar to that used in acell phone that enables such devices, e.g., computers, to send andreceive data indoors and out; anywhere within the range of a basestation. Wi-Fi networks use radio technologies called IEEE802.11 (a, b,g, n, etc.) to provide secure, reliable, fast wireless connectivity. AWi-Fi network can be used to connect computers to each other, to theInternet, and to wired networks (which use IEEE802.3 or Ethernet). Wi-Finetworks operate in the unlicensed 2.4 and 5 GHz radio bands, at an 11Mbps (802.11b) or 54 Mbps (802.11a) data rate, for example, or withproducts that contain both bands (dual band), so the networks canprovide real-world performance similar to the basic “10BaseT” wiredEthernet networks used in many offices.

As used in this application, the terms “system,” “component,”“interface,” and the like are generally intended to refer to acomputer-related entity or an entity related to an operational machinewith one or more specific functionalities. The entities disclosed hereincan be either hardware, a combination of hardware and software,software, or software in execution. For example, a component may be, butis not limited to being, a process running on a processor, a processor,an object, an executable, a thread of execution, a program, and/or acomputer. By way of illustration, both an application running on aserver and the server can be a component. One or more components mayreside within a process and/or thread of execution and a component maybe localized on one computer and/or distributed between two or morecomputers. These components also can execute from various computerreadable storage media having various data structures stored thereon.The components may communicate via local and/or remote processes such asin accordance with a signal having one or more data packets (e.g., datafrom one component interacting with another component in a local system,distributed system, and/or across a network such as the Internet withother systems via the signal). As another example, a component can be anapparatus with specific functionality provided by mechanical partsoperated by electric or electronic circuitry that is operated bysoftware or firmware application(s) executed by a processor, wherein theprocessor can be internal or external to the apparatus and executes atleast a part of the software or firmware application. As yet anotherexample, a component can be an apparatus that provides specificfunctionality through electronic components without mechanical parts,the electronic components can comprise a processor therein to executesoftware or firmware that confers at least in part the functionality ofthe electronic components. An interface can comprise input/output (I/O)components as well as associated processor, application, and/or APIcomponents.

Furthermore, the disclosed subject matter may be implemented as amethod, apparatus, or article of manufacture using standard programmingand/or engineering techniques to produce software, firmware, hardware,or any combination thereof to control a computer to implement thedisclosed subject matter. The term “article of manufacture” as usedherein is intended to encompass a computer program accessible from anycomputer-readable device, computer-readable carrier, orcomputer-readable media. For example, computer-readable media caninclude, but are not limited to, a magnetic storage device, e.g., harddisk; floppy disk; magnetic strip(s); an optical disk (e.g., compactdisk (CD), a digital video disc (DVD), a Blu-ray Disc™ (BD)); a smartcard; a flash memory device (e.g., card, stick, key drive); and/or avirtual device that emulates a storage device and/or any of the abovecomputer-readable media.

As it employed in the subject specification, the term “processor” canrefer to substantially any computing processing unit or devicecomprising, but not limited to comprising, single-core processors;single-processors with software multithread execution capability;multi-core processors; multi-core processors with software multithreadexecution capability; multi-core processors with hardware multithreadtechnology; parallel platforms; and parallel platforms with distributedshared memory. Additionally, a processor can refer to an integratedcircuit, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a digitalsignal processor (DSP), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), aprogrammable logic controller (PLC), a complex programmable logic device(CPLD), a discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardwarecomponents, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functionsdescribed herein. Processors can exploit nano-scale architectures suchas, but not limited to, molecular and quantum-dot based transistors,switches and gates, in order to optimize space usage or enhanceperformance of user equipment. A processor also can be implemented as acombination of computing processing units.

In the subject specification, terms such as “store,” “data store,” “datastorage,” “database,” “repository,” “queue”, and substantially any otherinformation storage component relevant to operation and functionality ofa component, refer to “memory components,” or entities embodied in a“memory” or components comprising the memory. It will be appreciatedthat the memory components described herein can be either volatilememory or nonvolatile memory, or can comprise both volatile andnonvolatile memory. In addition, memory components or memory elementscan be removable or stationary. Moreover, memory can be internal orexternal to a device or component, or removable or stationary. Memorycan comprise various types of media that are readable by a computer,such as hard-disc drives, zip drives, magnetic cassettes, flash memorycards or other types of memory cards, cartridges, or the like.

By way of illustration, and not limitation, nonvolatile memory cancomprise read only memory (ROM), programmable ROM (PROM), electricallyprogrammable ROM (EPROM), electrically erasable ROM (EEPROM), or flashmemory. Volatile memory can comprise random access memory (RAM), whichacts as external cache memory. By way of illustration and notlimitation, RAM is available in many forms such as synchronous RAM(SRAM), dynamic RAM (DRAM), synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), double data rateSDRAM (DDR SDRAM), enhanced SDRAM (ESDRAM), Synchlink DRAM (SLDRAM), anddirect Rambus RAM (DRRAM). Additionally, the disclosed memory componentsof systems or methods herein are intended to comprise, without beinglimited to comprising, these and any other suitable types of memory.

In particular and in regard to the various functions performed by theabove described components, devices, circuits, systems and the like, theterms (including a reference to a “means”) used to describe suchcomponents are intended to correspond, unless otherwise indicated, toany component which performs the specified function of the describedcomponent (e.g., a functional equivalent), even though not structurallyequivalent to the disclosed structure, which performs the function inthe herein illustrated example aspects of the embodiments. In thisregard, it will also be recognized that the embodiments comprises asystem as well as a computer-readable medium having computer-executableinstructions for performing the acts and/or events of the variousmethods.

Computing devices typically comprise a variety of media, which cancomprise computer-readable storage media and/or communications media,which two terms are used herein differently from one another as follows.Computer-readable storage media can be any available storage media thatcan be accessed by the computer and comprises both volatile andnonvolatile media, removable and non-removable media. By way of example,and not limitation, computer-readable storage media can be implementedin connection with any method or technology for storage of informationsuch as computer-readable instructions, program modules, structureddata, or unstructured data. Computer-readable storage media cancomprise, but are not limited to, RAM, ROM, EEPROM, flash memory orother memory technology, CD-ROM, digital versatile disk (DVD) or otheroptical disk storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic diskstorage or other magnetic storage devices, or other tangible and/ornon-transitory media which can be used to store desired information.Computer-readable storage media can be accessed by one or more local orremote computing devices, e.g., via access requests, queries or otherdata retrieval protocols, for a variety of operations with respect tothe information stored by the medium.

On the other hand, communications media typically embodycomputer-readable instructions, data structures, program modules orother structured or unstructured data in a data signal such as amodulated data signal, e.g., a carrier wave or other transportmechanism, and comprises any information delivery or transport media.The term “modulated data signal” or signals refers to a signal that hasone or more of its characteristics set or changed in such a manner as toencode information in one or more signals. By way of example, and notlimitation, communications media comprise wired media, such as a wirednetwork or direct-wired connection, and wireless media such as acoustic,RF, infrared and other wireless media

Further, terms like “user equipment,” “user device,” “mobile device,”“mobile,” station,” “access terminal,” “terminal,” “handset,” andsimilar terminology, generally refer to a wireless device utilized by asubscriber or user of a wireless communication network or service toreceive or convey data, control, voice, video, sound, gaming, orsubstantially any data-stream or signaling-stream. The foregoing termsare utilized interchangeably in the subject specification and relateddrawings. Likewise, the terms “access point,” “node B,” “base station,”“evolved Node B,” “cell,” “cell site,” and the like, can be utilizedinterchangeably in the subject application, and refer to a wirelessnetwork component or appliance that serves and receives data, control,voice, video, sound, gaming, or substantially any data-stream orsignaling-stream from a set of subscriber stations. Data and signalingstreams can be packetized or frame-based flows. It is noted that in thesubject specification and drawings, context or explicit distinctionprovides differentiation with respect to access points or base stationsthat serve and receive data from a mobile device in an outdoorenvironment, and access points or base stations that operate in aconfined, primarily indoor environment overlaid in an outdoor coveragearea. Data and signaling streams can be packetized or frame-based flows.

Furthermore, the terms “user,” “subscriber,” “customer,” “consumer,” andthe like are employed interchangeably throughout the subjectspecification, unless context warrants particular distinction(s) amongthe terms. It should be appreciated that such terms can refer to humanentities, associated devices, or automated components supported throughartificial intelligence (e.g., a capacity to make inference based oncomplex mathematical formalisms) which can provide simulated vision,sound recognition and so forth. In addition, the terms “wirelessnetwork” and “network” are used interchangeable in the subjectapplication, when context wherein the term is utilized warrantsdistinction for clarity purposes such distinction is made explicit.

Moreover, the word “exemplary” is used herein to mean serving as anexample, instance, or illustration. Any aspect or design describedherein as “exemplary” is not necessarily to be construed as preferred oradvantageous over other aspects or designs. Rather, use of the wordexemplary is intended to present concepts in a concrete fashion. As usedin this application, the term “or” is intended to mean an inclusive “or”rather than an exclusive “or”. That is, unless specified otherwise, orclear from context, “X employs A or B” is intended to mean any of thenatural inclusive permutations. That is, if X employs A; X employs B; orX employs both A and B, then “X employs A or B” is satisfied under anyof the foregoing instances. In addition, the articles “a” and “an” asused in this application and the appended claims should generally beconstrued to mean “one or more” unless specified otherwise or clear fromcontext to be directed to a singular form.

In addition, while a particular feature may have been disclosed withrespect to only one of several implementations, such feature may becombined with one or more other features of the other implementations asmay be desired and advantageous for any given or particular application.Furthermore, to the extent that the terms “includes” and “including” andvariants thereof are used in either the detailed description or theclaims, these terms are intended to be inclusive in a manner similar tothe term “comprising.”

The above descriptions of various embodiments of the subject disclosureand corresponding figures and what is described in the Abstract, aredescribed herein for illustrative purposes, and are not intended to beexhaustive or to limit the disclosed embodiments to the precise formsdisclosed. It is to be understood that one of ordinary skill in the artmay recognize that other embodiments having modifications, permutations,combinations, and additions can be implemented for performing the same,similar, alternative, or substitute functions of the disclosed subjectmatter, and are therefore considered within the scope of thisdisclosure. Therefore, the disclosed subject matter should not belimited to any single embodiment described herein, but rather should beconstrued in breadth and scope in accordance with the claims below.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system, comprising: a processor; and a memorythat stores executable instructions that, when executed by theprocessor, facilitate performance of operations, comprising: determiningthat an event, which satisfies a criterion related to an alert, hasoccurred; determining that a first user equipment associated with afirst user account is at a first location associated with the event; inresponse to receiving first status update feedback from the first userequipment, updating a status of the first user account, the status ofthe first user account relating to a personal identity associated withthe first user account; determining that second status update feedbackwas not received from a second user equipment associated with a secondlocation of the event; in response to the determining that the secondstatus update feedback was not received from the second user equipment,transmitting the second location of the second user equipment to amonitoring device; and based on the second location and a job hierarchyassociated with a second user of the second user equipment, generatingresponse data representative of a response protocol for an emergencyresponder to implement.
 2. The system of claim 1, wherein the operationsfurther comprise: in response to sending a status update request to thefirst user equipment, receiving an identification code from the firstuser equipment.
 3. The system of claim 1, wherein the operations furthercomprise: in response to receiving an identification code for the firstuser equipment, matching the identification code to directoryinformation associated with the first user account.
 4. The system ofclaim 1, wherein the operations further comprise: determining that anidentification code received from the first user equipment does notmatch directory information associated with the first user account. 5.The system of claim 4, wherein the operations further comprise: based ondetermining that the identification code does not match the directoryinformation, temporarily halting the updating of the status of the firstuser account.
 6. The system of claim 5, wherein the temporarily haltingthe updating comprises temporarily holding the updating of the statusuntil a matching identification code is received from the first userequipment.
 7. The system of claim 1, wherein the operations furthercomprise: transmitting a context update, generated based on the status,to a third user equipment associated with a third user account; anddetermining the first location of the first user equipment based onglobal positioning coordinate information received from the first userequipment.
 8. The system of claim 1, wherein the determining that thefirst user equipment is at the first location associated with the eventcomprises: determining the first location of the first user equipmentbased on social media information associated with the first useraccount.
 9. The system of claim 1, wherein the operations furthercomprise: receiving a context update related to the event from the firstuser equipment.
 10. The system of claim 9, wherein the context updatecomprises at least one of textual data, or image data.
 11. The system ofclaim 1, wherein the operations further comprise: determining the firstlocation of the first user equipment based on keyword tracker dataassociated with social media information associated with the first useraccount.
 12. The system of claim 1, wherein the operations furthercomprise: receiving a group of status updates within a defined amount oftime after the event has been determined to have occurred.
 13. A method,comprising: facilitating, by a first device comprising a processor,receiving a notification that an emergency event has occurred within afirst defined distance from a worksite; determining, by the firstdevice, that a first user equipment associated with a first employee iswithin a second defined distance from the worksite; determining, by thefirst device, that a status update was not received from a second userequipment associated with a second employee within the second defineddistance from the worksite; and in response to the determining that thestatus update was not received from the second user equipment,facilitating, by the first device, transmitting a location of the seconduser equipment to a second device associated with a first respondersystem to prompt an emergency responder to respond to the location as anincreased danger location according to a protocol applicable to anincreased danger associated with the increased danger location, whereinthe protocol mandates that the emergency responder respond to thelocation based on a job hierarchy associated with the second userequipment.
 14. The method of claim 13, further comprising: facilitating,by the first device, transmitting, to the first user equipment, avalidation request to validate the notification.
 15. The method of claim14, further comprising: in response to a validation code beingdetermined not to be a match with directory information, facilitating,by the first device, transmitting, to the first user equipment, arevalidation request.
 16. The method of claim 13, wherein thedetermining that the first user equipment device is within the seconddefined distance from the worksite further comprises identifying a basestation device that serves the first user equipment device.
 17. Themethod of claim 13, wherein the status is a first status, wherein thestatus update is a first status update, and further comprising: inresponse to receiving a second status update, updating, by the firstdevice, a second status associated with the first employee.
 18. Anon-transitory machine-readable medium, comprising executableinstructions that, when executed by a processor of a first system,facilitate performance of operations, comprising: based on a networklocation of a first mobile device, determining that the first mobiledevice, associated with a first employee, is within a first defineddistance of an emergency event; updating a status of the first employeein an emergency tracking data store with status informationrepresentative of a first status update; determining that a secondstatus update was not received from a second mobile device associatedwith a second employee within a second defined distance of the emergencyevent; transmitting a location of the second mobile device to a secondsystem associated with an emergency management system to indicate ahigher danger associated with the emergency, in relation to thelocation, than danger associated with the first defined distance; andbased on the location of the second mobile device and a job hierarchyassociated with the second employee, transmitting response proceduredata representative of a response procedure to the second system. 19.The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 18, wherein theoperations further comprise: in response to determining that the firstmobile device is associated with the first employee, receiving the firststatus update from the first mobile device.
 20. The non-transitorymachine-readable medium of claim 18, wherein the first status updatecomprises a validation code, and wherein the validation code comprisesan employee identification number of the first employee.